It's Finally Here

The moment I’ve been waiting for finally came. Last night, I attended my first seminary class ever, and it was awesome. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve daydreamed about being in the classroom spending all my time studying theology and God’s word. And now, it’s here. My dream has become a reality. I couldn’t be more excited.

I think there are a lot of pitfalls that a person can fall into when waiting for something that’s very exciting, and there are others that one can fall into once that exciting something comes. I’m trying to avoid these. Here are few things I’m trying to keep in mind as I’m transitioning into this exciting new phase of life.

Realistic expectations are key.

When you’re excited about something, it’s natural to spend a good deal of time thinking about it. Whether it’s a new product you’re buying, a new job, or (in my case) a new school, we spend a lot of time thinking about exciting things that are coming our way. And that’s perfectly fine, but a problem arises when we let our pictures of those things get out of hand.

If I came to seminary expecting to learn everything and have my life changed in one day, I would be disappointed. Or if I expected to be really, really good at it right off the bat, I’d probably fall short of my expectations. It’s OK to get excited about things we’re expecting and even to spend time thinking about what they’ll be like, but we have to keep in mind that we can’t fully understand what something will be like until we experience it, and letting our expectations get out of control can actually ruin the experience when the reality doesn’t live up to it.

Let yourself get excited.

The fact that something excites you means you care about it, and that’s meaningful. Some people are scared to let themselves get excited or attached to something because they’re afraid of being let down or rejected. I know I’ve been there before. But we can’t give in to that. We’re meant to enjoy the good things of this life, and we can’t let insecurity get in the way of that.

Get excited. Be proud of your accomplishments. Enjoy each moment. Don’t be afraid to live life to the fullest because we only get one.

This won’t last forever.

As cool as seminary is, and as long as three-to-four years sounds right now, I know that this experience is going to end in the blink of an eye. I think back on college, and I can’t believe that it was four years ago that I was starting my freshman year. That’s just crazy to me. And I know I’ll think of seminary the same way when I finish it. These next few years are going to fly by, and I want to make the most of them.

We tend to think that whatever life situation we’re in at the moment is the one we’re going to be in forever. So when we get something new or experience something new, we think it’s going to stay that way. But that’s not the case. Nothing in this world lasts forever, and we need to keep that in mind from the get-go. Our lives go in phases, and we need to enjoy the one we’re in as much as possible, because it’ll be gone before we know it.

Thank you guys for checking out my little list. These are some things that have been on my mind lately, and I thought I would share them with you. I hope this helps others who are in situations like mine, and I hope you’re all doing well. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you guys next time!

The Giver

I’ve been imagining what a movie adaptation of The Giver would look like ever since I read the book in middle school. It was one of those books that really stuck with me growing up because it made me think. I read it multiple times throughout my childhood. And so, when I found out that they were working on a film version of the story, I was ecstatic. I absolutely could not wait. And the movie did not disappoint.

The Giver is a dystopian film set in a post-apocalyptic future. It tells the story of Jonas, a young man who grows up in a community without color, emotion, or choice. Jonas and his two best friends, Asher and Fiona, come of age and are given their life-long Assignments, or careers. Jonas is specially chosen to be the receiver of memory, the person who retains the memories of the past (the world we currently live in) that normal citizens of the community are unaware of. Through his training, Jonas comes to see the brokenness of the system he has grown up in and has to figure out how to deal with that.

For what originated as a children’s story, The Giver is very deep. It touches on themes of freedom, despair, and ultimately on whether or not human nature is capable of doing any amount of good on its own. The message of the story is one that will connect with a lot of people, and it will hopefully make you think at least a little bit.

The differences between the book and the movie are numerous. The main characters are older in the movie than in the book. A lot of the smaller details (like Asher and Fiona’s assignments) were changed for the sake of the film. Several story elements were added in order to make the film full-length. And the defining characteristic that sets gifted individuals (like Jonas) apart from others was changed from eye color (which is difficult to convey in film) to a special birthmark on the person’s wrist. These differences were noticeable, but they weren’t necessarily distracting.

Really what this movie was trying to do was take a children’s book that made a huge impact and make it more concrete, something people of all ages might be able to access. It tried to be a realistic, fully-fleshed-out story, and I think it accomplished that while also staying true to the basic idea of the book. So I was happy with it both as a movie and as an adaption of The Giver.

They did make one choice that I’m conflicted about, though. In the book, there was almost no romance at all. The people in Jonas’s community didn’t have that. They were assigned mates, so romance wasn’t a part of their lives. Jonas had one fleeting moment of romantic feeling in the book, but that was it. In the film, a good portion of the drama revolves around a romance story involving Jonas. I understand why the filmmakers decided to do that (Jonas is older in the film than the book, it makes the movie more appealing, etc.), but I also sort of wish they had left it out. Not only was it just simply not based on the book at all, but it creates some issues for the future if they decide to make film versions of the book’s sequels, Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. I really hope they make those movies (and there was at least one hint in the movie that they might), but if they do, they’ll have to reconcile the revisions they made to plot with the way the story plays out in the books. It will be interesting to see.

But overall, The Giver was a great film. I think it’s definitely worth seeing. It’s something that people of all ages can enjoy and connect with, and in that way, it’s just like the book it was based on. So check out The Giver in theaters, and let me know what you think about it! Thanks for reading, friends, and I’ll see you on Tuesday.

Ice Bucket Challenge

Hey guys! So my buddy Will Ortega nominated me for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and I accepted. You can watch the video below!

I want to stress to you guys the fact that this is not just some silly thing people are doing online. This is a movement to raise awareness (and money!) for ALS, a horrible disease that afflicts a lot of people. Take this opportunity to do some research on ALS, get informed, and spread the word!

Hello, Waco

So in case you haven’t heard, I moved! It’s something that’s been in the works for a while now. I decided last fall that I wanted to attend Truett Seminary after I graduated from Hendrix, and now the time has finally come! I’m all moved in to my new apartment, and I’m set to start classes next week. But before I get swamped with studying theology, I wanted to take some time reflect on the big move and what I can learn from it.

Until about a week ago, moving to Waco was just an idea inside my head. Sure, all the plans were made, but as far as I was concerned, it was never really going to happen. I was going to stay in Greenwood with my family and work at the church forever, or at least so I thought. I think we all do this from time to time. We get caught up in what we’re doing, and we assume that it’s never going to change. But suddenly, it was my last day of work, and I realized that things were about to be changing very, very soon.

And change they did. Wednesday night at church, everyone was wanting to say goodbye to me. I didn’t like it at all. It felt way too permanent. Too real. Every time I said goodbye to someone, it sunk in a little more that I was really leaving. I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I had to face the fact that the time had come.

My Thursday was dedicated almost entirely to packing up the stuff I would need for my apartment, and I had grossly underestimated how much I would be taking. I figured I would fill a storage tub with the essentials, throw my clothes in the back seat, mount my bike, and be done. But I was way off. I ended up filling my entire trunk and back seat to the brim with clothes, dishes, cleaning supplies, bedding, and all sorts of other fun stuff that I didn’t realize you needed when you have your own apartment. That day, I learned the consequences of underestimating just how big a project could be. It was humbling.

Friday was the day of the big move. I wanted to leave as early as possible because I knew the drive was going to be rough. So I said goodbye to my mom, had a quick breakfast with my dad, and headed for Waco. The first few hours weren’t bad at all. After I passed the halfway point, I started to get restless. The final hour was torture. I thought it would never end. I was so overwhelmed with excitement and homesickness and so many other things all at once, and I was just ready to be there. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I made it to my new home in Waco.

Unpacking was hard work, but I didn’t mind because it was exciting. I got to pick out where everything went and rearrange my room to make it exactly the way I wanted it. It was fun. I can already tell that I’m more invested in this place than I was anywhere I lived while I was in college. This is going to be my home for a while, and it feels good to accept that.

Since then, I’ve mostly just been settling in. I bought groceries, explored campus, and checked out the local movie theater (twice). Sunday, I attended Antioch Community Church, which was great, but also felt weird because I’m so used to being at my home church. It’s going to take some time before Waco truly feels like home to me, but I’m getting there one step at a time. This is a totally new phase in my life, a new adventure, and I’m so grateful for it. Thank you guys for your support as I take this next step. I’ll keep you posted. For now, I’m just saying hello to Waco and seeing what happens next!

Radical

I am often troubled by the question of whether the things I believe and desire are actually based on the Bible and what God wants for me or just on my American upbringing. Sure, there’s some overlap between the two, but there are definitely some things passed down to me culturally that aren’t Biblically-based, and may even be contrary to what the Bible teaches. The problem is that it’s sometimes tough to tell what’s what, and everyone has a different opinion on the matter.

In his book Radical, David Platt attempts to free Christians from the American Dream and the unbiblical goals and teachings that come along with it. Based in part on his experiences with Christians outside the U.S. and their deep desire to know God, the book offers an alternative to the watered down American version of Christianity than many of us have grown up in and instead offers an authentic, Bible-based approach to living for God.

There’s a reason this book has become so popular in Christian circles. It’s good. Really good. It offers a refreshing take on the American dream that so many people have become fed up with, and it offers an alternative that has the potential to change your life. It’s honest, unapologetic, and exactly the wake-up call that the American church needs.

Radical puts Christianity into a global perspective and encourages its readers to do the same. We are so caught up in our comfortable American way of life that we sometimes forget that there is a whole world of people out there hurting and hungering for Jesus. As affluent Christians, it is our responsibility to help these people with their physical and spiritual needs. And David Platt urges us to do just that in Radical. He tries to site up a passion within his readers to see the nations reached for Christ and to find a way to help make that happen.

As I was reading Radical, I found myself nodding my head and agreeing a lot. But I was worried that my reaction would end at that: agreement, and not real change. So as I read, I prayed that God would help me find a way not only to agree with the principles the book puts forth on an intellectual level, but to live them out on a day-to-day basis. And when I got the end of the book, I found just that. The final chapter sets out a simple, concrete plan of how a person can live radically for Christ.

And that’s probably my favorite thing about the book. It’s practical. It isn’t content to just give you a few thinking points and then leave you unchanged. The book challenges your heart and then gives you a direct plan of how to act on what you’ve learned throughout your experience of reading it. Radical is a book that’s going to make a difference in your life if you honestly, humbly pick it up in hopes of seeing what God can teach you through it. I know Radical changed my perspective and actions, and I know it can change yours too if you’ll read it. So check out David Platt’s Radical and see what a difference God can make in our life through it.